Hell Hath No Fury, Chapter 1
by Mlle Elizabeth
Summary: : During Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts, alliances begin to shift and loyalties are tested.
1. Default Chapter Title

HELL HATH NO FURY   
by Mlle Elizabeth  
  
FANDOM: Harry Potter  
  
RATING: PG-13 (for language)  
  
SPOILERS: None  
  
SUMMARY: During Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts, alliances begin to shift and loyalties are tested.  
  
WARNINGS: Slash fans: this is a primarily het fic. People who don't read slash: I cannot guarantee that there will be no slash in this fic.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All characters, places and things from the HPverse belong to JK Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic and Bloomsbury. This fic is intended for my and the readers' personal use and not for profit.  
  
ARCHIVE: Yes to: FFNet and to any HP_FanFiction egroup archives; Otherwise, please ask.  
  
THANKS: to Nicole, for beta reading.  
  
DEDICATION: This fan fic is dedicated to Keith Fraser, who presented me with the challenge to write it, and to my mother, whom I hope is able to read it from Heaven's version of Hogwarts.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Ginny sat, back against a tree, looking out across the lake and contemplated her misery. Harry's words returned to her over and over ...   
"...just don't feel the same way about you."; "....really like you as a friend and as Ron's sister.";   
"...just not ready for ..."   
As she sat zapping rocks with her wand she thought miserably to herself;  
"Everybody's known about my crush on Harry for years. How humiliating. How utterly humiliating. I'm so stupid to have asked in the Common Room - in front of everyone!"   
Tears prickled behind her eyelids. Harry had tried to be really nice about it. Somehow that had made the hurt even worse.  
  
Gathering her quill and books Ginny rose and headed back to the castle where, blinking back her tears, she approached the painting of the Fat Lady.   
"Mugwort" she mumbled and the Fat Lady looked gently down at her;   
"Oh, my dear, it's not that bad" the Fat Lady gently crooned.   
  
"What do you know? You're just a painting!" snapped Ginny as she crawled through to the Common Room.   
  
Luckily the room was deserted and Ginny was able to run straight through to the staircase and then to her room. There were two other fifth year Gryffindor girls in the room; two girls that Ginny had casually befriended but with whom she had never shared confidences. Startled by Ginny's demeanor, they exchanged a look and hastened out of the room and downstairs. Finally Ginny was alone with her tears. Pulling the heavy red drapes around her bed, she cried herself to sleep.  
  
Ginny awoke the next morning rested but not refreshed. Haunted by tragic dreams throughout the night, she was now haunted by hunger too. Rising from her bed, mechanically she dressed herself, paying no heed to her attire nor her roommates before morosely heading downstairs.   
  
She reached the Great Hall and paused before entering. She was afraid to speak, for if she did, they would notice her even more. If she spoke, they would talk even more about her humiliation. If she spoke, she would start crying again and then they would all see how much the rejection had hurt her. With her head bowed, she sat at the centre of the Gryffindor table, and feigned concentration on her breakfast. She barely heard the voices surrounding her.   
  
Further down the table, Ron and Hermione were arguing over something again. Ginny heard their raised voices and noticed that Harry's was not amongst them. She thought for a moment that perhaps Harry had skipped breakfast. Her heart skipped a beat.   
"Maybe he's had second thoughts. Maybe he's sitting, alone in the Gryffindor common room, hoping I'll notice his absence and return." she thought. Quickly she raised her head and glanced towards the end of the table. Her heart sank back to the lonely depths from whence it had barely escaped. Harry was not waiting for her in the Gryffindor common room, he was sitting silently between Ron and Hermione, ignoring their heated chatter and staring - no glaring - across the room, his lips thin and flat. Ginny's eyes followed Harry's intense gaze to the source of his discomfort. At first her mind registered nothing but silvery whiteness....   
  
Harry's eyes were locked upon his arch nemesis, Draco Malfoy.  
  
At first Ginny shuddered, as she remembered the way Draco had picked on her brothers for years: of the hateful names he had called Hermione and all of the trouble that he'd caused Harry over the past five and a half years.   
  
"Harry," she thought despondently. "Oh yes, Harry the Humiliator. The Boy Who Sent Me Away. Maybe he deserves to have Draco annoying him ..." Before that thought had even begun to fade, another was already forming in her mind.   
  
Draco Malfoy may have been a slimy git but perhaps she could use him to return the humiliation to Harry. Nothing would come of it of course - she could never actually go out with a Death-Eater-in-training but she could flirt a little....   
That's all it would be, a little harmless flirting. She could turn everyone's minds from yesterday's miserable scene and, if Draco responded (please, please God let him respond), she, Ginny Weasley, would look desireable as well.  
  
Ginny's eyes were now riveted on Draco who seemed to be completely lost in a world of his own. A small, sly smile began appear on her face. With something to look forward to, life was not so bleak. She left her egg unfinished and scurried out of the Great Hall, desiring only to return to her room to primp & preen before she had the chance to see Draco again.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

HELL HATH NO FURY   
by Mlle Elizabeth  
  
FANDOM: Harry Potter  
  
RATING: PG-13 (for language)  
  
SPOILERS: None  
  
SUMMARY: During Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts, alliances begin to shift and loyalties are tested.  
  
WARNINGS: Slash fans: this is a primarily het fic. People who don't read slash: I cannot guarantee that there will be no slash in this fic.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All characters, places and things from the HPverse belong to JK Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic and Bloomsbury. This fic is intended for my and the readers' personal use and not for profit.  
  
ARCHIVE: Yes to FFNet and to any HP_FanFiction egroup archives; otherwise, please ask.  
  
THANKS: to Nicole, for beta reading.  
  
DEDICATION: This fan fic is dedicated to Keith Fraser, who presented me with the challenge to write it, and to my mother, whom I hope is able to read it from Heaven's version of Hogwarts.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"Now, what is that charm that Lavendar uses to make her eyes bigger and her eyelashes longer? Occulus luminosus. That's better!" Ginny's mind was racing as she quickly ran a brush through her hair.  
  
"But what am I going to say to him?" she thought. "This is stupid. This is totally stupid and he'll probably spit on me. What am I saying? I'm a Weasley! I'm a Gryffindor! I can do this. Right. Ha!" Full of shaky resolve and taking a deep breath, Ginny smoothed her robe and tried to think clearly.  
  
"Right, I need a... something. I need a plan. I at least need something to say. I can't just walk up to him and gawk. I have to have a reason to talk to him." she racked her brain, "Why would I do that? I wouldn't. There is no reason I would ever have to talk to Draco Malfoy. But there has to be. Oh Goddess, Ginny think. What do you have in common?" Ginny's mind turned over and over.. "We're both at Hogwarts. Oh, brilliant! Like a jillion other people aren't. There's got to be something else." Her mind continued to fumble around. "What's he into? I don't play quidditch. I don't even really like quidditch. I don't know any of his friends or their clubs or whatever it is the Slytherins do. We do have Harry in common but I can't be that obvious. Gah!" She stamped her foot in frustration. "What else is he known for? Oh. Oh.. oh.. oh. YES!... Potions... YES! Ginny Weasley, you've got a line!" Then smiling to herself, "Now, If I can just get it out of my mouth...." Ginny's confidence began to grow, "Okay, you can do it, girl. This is going to be fun. Yes, FUN!"  
  
***********************  
  
Ginny rushed back to the Great Hall to catch Draco before the first class of the day. She found him in the corridor, joking with his almost constant companions, Crabbe and Goyle. She stopped a few feet away and gave herself another quick pep talk but as she got closer, her composure took one look at Draco Malfoy and fled the scene.   
  
"Um... ah..... um..." she mumbled as though she had been chewing one of the Twins' Ten Ton Tongue toffees.  
  
"Do you want something kid, or did Ron the Weasel Boy send you over here to curse me?" Draco sneered.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Ginny tried to sound comprehensible, "Uh, no I... um... could you.. um, I'm having some, um... trouble with my potions project and... I mean, er, if you're not too busy... I mean, I um, Professor Snape's always telling us how good you are.... I mean at potions, and um..."  
  
"Could you translate that into English, please?" enquired a mocking Malfoy. "No? All right then, I'll give it a try: you want me to help you with potions homework. Is that it?"   
  
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered at their friend's sarcasm. Ginny nodded vigorously.  
  
"Why not get that mudblood Granger to do it? She does okay in that class."   
  
"Uh," was all that Ginny could muster.  
  
"Well, there you go, then." laughed Malfoy as he turned to leave with Crabbe and Goyle who were both by this time, laughing like drains.  
  
"Bugger! What do I do now?" she thought framtically, "I'm totally screwed! I have nothing else I can say and.... and..."  
  
Turning and quickly walking off in the opposite direction, she silently berated herself as she fought to stem the flow of salty tears that now stung her eyes.  
  
***  
  
As the trio of lads headed off toward their first class of the day, they were still chuckling heartily. Crabbe was the first to speak. "What was that that all about? Imagine that silly Weasley girl daring to speak to you."  
  
"Ha! She's probably gotten all crushy on me, " Draco snorted. " And, who could blame her?" he laughed, puffing himself up. "After all, I'm Slytherin Perfection and all she's got around her is Potty Face, the Weasel Boy and.." Draco began a bad impersonation of a mentally challenged person, "... that Squiblet Neville Longbottom and.." laughing again, "Oh Hell.. and that mudblood Granger! Listen, nobody else pays that Weasley wench any attention and everyone knows Potter just rejected her. That's gotta hurt. Ha!"   
  
"He did?" asked Crabbe.   
  
"Yep. Told her to take it elsewhere. I thought everyone at Hogwarts knew that." Draco began to laugh harder.  
  
"Who pays any attention to the Gryffindor's melodramas?" responded Goyle, dully.  
  
"Well, sometimes they play into our hands, don't they?" Draco mused. "You know, this could be a very useful little occurrence, not to mention a fun little game."  
  
Crabbe and Goyle looked at their friend, uncomprehending. "Uh?' was all either of them could manage to say.  
  
***  
  
Draco watched the Gryffindor table throughout dinner that night, waiting for his opportunity. Luckily for him, Ginny had chosen once again to exile herself to the end of the table, a look of misery on her face. When he saw that Hermione had managed to convince Harry and Ron to join her in the library for research, Draco knew his moment had come, and pounced. He walked over to Gryffndor table, past several gawking classmates and sat beside Ginny.  
  
Ginny looked up at him completely surprised when he asked, "Hey kid, you still need help with that potions project?"  
  
"Uh, no. Why?" asked Ginny.  
  
Draco shrugged. "It occurred to me that it might be quite fun to have you credit me as a source on your project. And I'll probably win huge points for Slytherin for being such a nice guy."  
  
"Um, ok," said Ginny, beginning to revive a little. "Um, can we do it now? In the library?"  
  
"Fine by me," replied Draco, grinning from ear to ear. "I've got a few minutes."   
  
*********************  
  
Ginny surveyed the library, looking for just the right spot. She noticed the Gryffindors at a nearby table . Harry was staring off into space, whilst Ron sorted books into piles. Ron looked up with a smile, only to replace it with a look of sheer disbelief. Draco and Ginny watched as Ron nudged Hermione. The look on her face as she saw Ron's sister and the hated Malfoy together was one of utter and complete confusion. Ron and Hermione started chattering, trying to get Harry's attention whilst Ginny tried her best to appear enthralled by the Slytherin lad's every move and comment.  
Draco grinned, led Ginny to a nearby table and proceeded to look over her project outline.  
  
When he'd finally finished it, Draco smiled. "Well it's complicated enough," he announced, "Although it's pretty lightweight for a fifth-year Are you sure you don't want to try something a little more exciting?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to after... um," Ginny looked down at the papers on the table.  
  
"Oh, right." Draco said. " I suppose we don't talk about that incident."  
  
Ginny felt her face flushing warm and crimson. "Please. I'd rather not."  
  
"All right, then," Draco smiled, "You need to fill in some blanks here. You're missing all of the information regarding where the ingredients came from. Also, you need to elaborate on how they interact and why the different potions attract different types of faeries. Otherwise, it's actually almost a decent report." Ginny brightened at Draco's words.   
  
"Why don't you finish it up and then we can meet back here tomorrow and I'll look it over again." said Malfoy in a voice loud enough for the benefit of the occupants at the other table  
  
"Would you?" beamed Ginny.  
  
"Sure." Draco looked over at the Gryffindor's table where Ron was staring at them, bug-eyed. "This is almost fun," he thought to himself.  
  
Ginny glanced discreetly toward the Gryffindor table and watched as Harry arose and gathered his papers to leave. He stopped and threw a look at Ginny and Draco, then looked back at Ron one more time, before walking away. Ron never noticed the look; he appeared to be protesting but Hermione apparently thought it best to leave as she shoved his books toward him and walked off after Harry.  
  
"Well," sighed Ginny to herself, "We seem to have at least got a reaction even if he doesn't care."  
  
******  
  
As Ginny walked into the Gryffindor common room, Ron caught her by the arm and growled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
Ginny's back straightened as she tried to pull away from her brother's grip. "Going to my room. Do you have a problem with that?"  
  
"Come on, Ginny, you know what I'm talking about. And as a matter of fact, I do have a problem with it. If you need help with your homework there's plenty of Gryffindors who can help you. Hermione will help you. All you had to do was ask."   
  
"It's not up to you to choose my study partners, Ron. I'm really getting tired of you watching over me constantly. I can take care of myself, Big Brother."  
  
"Ginny, don't you dare do anything or be seen with Malfoy again. I'm warning you," raged Ron.  
  
"What are you going to do Ron? Tattle on me for studying? Just leave me alone," Ginny hissed.  
  
Ginny, after looking Harry's way and noticing that he was absorbed in a book, returned to her room thinking that she'd give gaining Harry's attention another try.  
  
******  
  
The next evening, in the library once again and at the same table but this time without an audience, Draco glanced over Ginny's report. "It's really much better. Not up to my standards of course, but better enough for Snape to probably give you an acceptable mark on it."   
  
Ginny sighed with relief and relaxed a little as she reached across the table for her report.  
  
As she started to rise, Draco quietly whispered in her ear, "Now, let's get down to our real business."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ginny semi-innocently asked.  
  
"I mean I know you're really doing this to get back at Harry."  
  
Ginny blanched and started up from the table. Goddess, was she really that transparent? Draco lightly placed his hand on hers and shook his head.   
"No, no, I think it's great. It's far too good an idea to have come from a Weasley! You must have some Malfoy blood in you. Maybe from your Mum!" he mused, grinning. "Anyway, you don't want to stop now do you? You haven't exactly gotten Potter to drop to his knees and kiss your feet, have you? Or to ask you for a date? Or even notice you exist?"  
  
"No," Ginny admitted, reluctantly.  
  
"So it's not working, right?"  
  
"I.. I guess not. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."  
  
"Maybe we need to up the ante a bit," replied Malfoy.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Studying is just ...well, studying. This weekend is a Hogsmeade visit. I can't go with you, that would be ridiculous. But maybe we could meet at the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. That ought to get you some attention."  
  
Reflecting on Ron's angry words and Harry's complete lack of interest on the previous day, Ginny looked up a Draco with a smile and replied, "What time shall we meet?"  
  
~ end of Chapter 2 ~  
  
Author's Note: Apologies to any who's reading this for the long delay between chapters. And thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter.  



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